“Do what you love and you’ll never work a day.”
Today's Shero, Tina Garg is the founder and CEO of Pink Lemonade, a creative design and content agency in Bangalore. It is inspiring to see how she followed her passion for writing and made it her life's work. Every one of us can be greatly inspired by some of her beliefs and words of advice. Read on for some interesting thoughts by Tina,
How did the idea of Pink Lemonade come about?
Though my education and background is in Computer Engineering, In my heart I always knew that I wanted to be a writer. All through college, I wrote for various publications including Rashmi Bansal’s JAM (Just Another Magazine). Taking my passion forward, I took up a course in creative writing and also did my post graduate in marketing and communication. Working with diverse companies such as vMoksha Tech, Ernst & Young, CBeyond, gave me a holistic experience. It was around the time when I was freelancing that I realized this was something I wanted to do full-time, and on my own terms. To be honest, that’s when the genesis of Pink Lemonade happened.
When you know this is what you’re meant to do, no leap is too big. Today at Pink Lemonade we give a twist to business communications. Every day is a joy to be ideating, creating, and defining new communication elements and strategies for brands. There is nowhere else I’d rather be!
What top 3 qualities are must-haves for entrepreneurs?
In my experience, you can make do with things like limited capital, a smaller workforce and a home office set up. But there are certain things I feel an entrepreneur absolutely must have if he or she is to achieve success:
Passion: Passion is what drives you every day of your journey. The rush to overcome hurdles and achieve must be bigger than the challenge itself. When you’re not passionate about your work, it’s hard to keep it going when the going gets tough. An adage that I’ve lived by is “Do what you love and you’ll never work a day.”
Empathy: Being a good leader is definitely paramount to being an entrepreneur. People buy into your abilities and skills. It isn’t so much about your vision as about encouraging your team to imbibe the spirit of your organization. Being an empathetic leader who is genuinely concerned about the welfare of her people is critical. Constantly motivating your people, recognizing and rewarding their hard work, and empowering them in the decision-making process helps them deliver their best.
‘Can do’ attitude: Irrespective of the industry you’re in, I believe an entrepreneur must know a great deal about their craft. In this frenetic paced world, staying ahead of the curve is a must. The spirit to go out there and try something different, even if it’s something you’ve never attempted before, will go a long way in one’s learning.
What are the biggest challenges you faced in this industry?
In the initial stages, building the right team was a challenge. I needed to set a work culture where people would enjoy coming to work every day. Another thing which isn’t so much a challenge but an imperative to be able to survive in this industry is offering work that’s fresh, different, and that has an impact on the client’s business. We sometimes work on highly technical, domain-specific projects but over the years we’ve built up an ecosystem of knowledge and collaboration with partners. Partnerships help us supplement our own skills and get the job done.
What advice would you give young women careerists who are just starting out in the corporate world?
One piece of advice I would definitely like to share is if you’re not in it for the long haul, don’t bother. As women, most of us are naturally shy or unsure of staying there for the long term. Marriage and childbirth are life’s phases that can continue alongside work. They need not become your alternative career. I would also like to see more women stepping up, asking for leadership roles, and just believing in themselves. Don’t hesitate to take risks. If you have a dream, go all out to make it a reality.
What are your short-term business/ professional plans?
We are currently at the cusp, growing from a small design firm to a mid-sized full service communications firm. I see us only learning and taking flight from here on out. 99% of our business comes to us from word-of-mouth reference. So we must definitely be doing something right. Going forward, we aim to continue offering the same level of excellence to our clients and take the business to the next level. Of course the aim is also to better the offerings, the clientele, and the capabilities.
Looking for flexible or full-time jobs in content / creative writing? Click here!